Cayey, Puerto Rico Church Books 1776-1937

Indexes for Baptisms from the 18th & 19th Century

Cayey was founded on August 17, 1773, by Juan Mata Vázquez, who became its first mayor. It is said that Cayey derives its name from the Taino Indian word for “a place of waters.” Its original name was “Cayey de Muesas,” in honor of Miguel de Muesas, the then governor of Puerto Rico. The town is in a valley between Puerto Rico’s Cordillera Central Mountain range and the Sierra de Cayey.

Districts

Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Cayey is subdivided into barrios. The municipal buildings, central square, and sizeable Catholic Church are all located in a small barrio referred to as “el pueblo,” near the center of the municipality.

A walk down memory lane.

I remember the day I sat down with my mom and aunt at the kitchen table, sipping on a “Café con Leche” on a hot summer day. It feels like it was just yesterday. I’m unsure what sparked the conversation, but we began discussing my grandfather. My mother mentioned that he had a brother who died as an infant, which was news to me. Curious, I asked many questions about our family history. I grabbed a piece of paper from the side table and asked my mom for a pen. I wrote down my name, my parents’ names, and their parents’ names. Then I looked up and asked her who my great-grandparents were.

One pot of coffee later, a three-generation family tree stared back at me. That’s when I knew I needed to learn more about my ancestors. How long had they lived in Puerto Rico, and from which country had they migrated? I was bitten by the genealogy bug, marking the start of a journey that began over thirty-five years ago. As we all know, genealogy never stops; it never ends!

My connection to Cayey

The pueblo of Cayey holds a special place in my heart. We still own land there and have many relatives living in the area. Every time I visit, I feel right at home.

Pedro Avila, Cayey, is my parents’ hometown. My dad left when he was seventeen, and my mom was twelve. I initially assumed Cayey was the origin of my roots, but I was both right and wrong. Here’s why: my grandparents were from Barros (Orocovis, Puerto Rico), and my great-grandparents moved to Pedro Avila, Cayey, in 1929, as the paper trails show. The deeper I delved into my research, the more I discovered. Going further back, my ancestors lived in Barranquitas, Aibonito, and Guayama. Coamo, one of the largest settlements established in the 16th century, was the initial home of my ancestors. They were always in Puerto Rico; it was just the borders that changed.

It turns out my ancestors were among the original founding members of Cayey, Barranquitas, Aibonito, Guayama, and Coamo! I descend from some of the oldest surnames on the island: Aponte, Alvarado, Bonilla, Colon, Berrios, and Torres, to name a few. My 5th great-grandfather, Don Antonio Aponte Ramos, played a significant role in establishing Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. Additionally, my Aponte ancestors were part of the founders of Cayey, Puerto Rico. Discovering this history was an incredible revelation for me.

Our Ancestors left us a gift.

Finding documents from the 18th and 19th centuries is truly a gift left by our ancestors for us to cherish. Tracing my family lines back to the 1700s would have been nearly impossible without these surviving records. As you know, this task is far from easy, often requiring guidance from others. I’ve been fortunate to meet many people who have greatly assisted me over the years.

I want to take this moment to thank the following individuals: Dr. Luis Rodríguez Medina, Dr. Norma Feliberti, Doña Jennie Jiminez, Padre Antonio Pabon Oquendo, Dr. David Stark, Dr. José Colón Perez, David Cuesta, and Doña Teresa D. Sedgwick. Thank you for your guidance and support throughout this journey.

I continue to meet people who generously take the time to assist me now, and I also want to thank them. They know who they are. Their willingness to share knowledge, materials, and time inspires me to pay it forward.

Indexing Cayey’s records is a labor of love.

Don Manuel Aponte Rexach is someone I met a couple of years ago, and I am incredibly grateful to know him. Although we have never met in person since he lives in Australia, Don Manuel has been a tremendous help in my genealogical research, especially with records from Cayey. Whenever he comes across an Aponte, Bonilla, or another related family line, he promptly shares it with me, and more often than not, they turn out to be relatives.

Don Manuel has dedicated significant time and energy to indexing church books, excellently compiling these PDFs. With his permission, I now have the pleasure of sharing his labor of love with all of you.

Please leave a comment to thank Don Manuel for sharing his documents with us. Also, let me know if you find any of your relatives needing assistance. Happy hunting!

Indexes

Below are the indexes for Cayey consisting of books filmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It consists of burials, marriages, baptisms, and confirmations. I begin the list with the book of burials. (You want to work backward, which is another way of researching.

Burials

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1787-1800	1544
2	1801-1813	178
3	1813-1817	660		Transcription is available. See below.
5	1826-1833	2324
6	1834-1849	1671
7	1849-1860	2076
8	1860-1866	4	290
9	1866-1871	309
10	1871-1876	618	907
11	1876-1879	937	1223
12	1879-1883	1242	1528
13	1883-1885	2770	2962
14	1885-1888	1549	1856
15	1888-1892	1877	2187
16	1892-1895	335	640
17	1895-1898	5	314
18	1898-1900	2421	2747
19	1900-1915	2209	2390

Marriages

Book	Year	Race/Notes	Image	Index
	1818-1837	Pardos	1796
	1837-1867	Pardos/Africans	878
1	1776-1809	Whites	1841	1776 through 1851 are transcribed. Please see below.
2	1810-1813	“	2592
3	1813-1819	“	745-790
4	1819-1851	“	945-1132
5	1851-1858	Whites, marked as Book 6 1851-1877 but ended in 1858.	2261-2718	Transcription is available. PDF
5	1858-1868	continuation of the above.	3-123	124
6	1868-1879	Freed Residents, Whites, Pardos	2282-2575	2575
7	1879-1892		2603	2902
8	1892-1909		32	4
9	1909-1919		341	577
10	1919-1925		643	606
11	1925-1930		1090	1358
12	1930-1936		1409	1385

Baptisms; Pardos, BLACKS, EnslaveD

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1776-1796	1978
2	1797-1805	2130
3	1806-1810	2539
5	1815-1820	5
6	1820-1826	169
7	1826-1832	790
8	1833-1853	973	1337
8	1844-1871	1362	1581 M-Z 1587-A-Z

Baptisms; Whites

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
1	1776-1794	1227		Please see below for available transcriptions. (1776-1844)
2	1794-1808	1782
3	1808-1817	2367
4	1817-1826	2718
6	1836-1854	361	755	By the first name.

1854 to 1900, Books 7 to 22, (All Races)

Book	Year	Image	Index	Duplicate Copy	Notes
7	1854-1863	50		1605
8	1863-1866	365	657	1911 (Index 2203)
9	1866-1869	708		2223
10	1869-1872	1037		2514
11	1872-1875	1323	1610	4 (Index 292)
12	1875-1877	1628	1916	310
13	1877-1880	1934		621
14	1880-1882	2227	2516	920
15	1882-1884	2598	2534
16	1884-1886	5
17	1886-1887	212	519
18	1888-1891	537
19	1891-1893	849
20	1893-1895	1158	1465
21	1896-1897	1485	1793
22	1898-1900	1815	2120

1900 to 1937, Books 23 to 42; Baptisms-All Races

Book	Year	Image	Index	Notes
23	1900-1903	2144	2449
24	1903-1905	2483	2787
25	1905-1906	4
26	1906-1909	258
27	1909-1911	517
28	1911-1913	785
29	1913-1915	1044
30	1915-1917	1424	1408
31	1918-1920	1784
32	1920-1922	2147
33	1922-1923	2510	2883
33	1923-1924	4
34	1924-1925	263
35	1926-1927	466	727
36	1927-1929	761
37	1929-1930	1132
38	1930-1931	1345
39	1931-1933	1561
40	1933-1934	1773
41	1934-1935	1979
42	1935-1937	2188

Confirmations

Book	Year	Image	Notes
2-1829-1890	July 1829 January 7, 1850 June 2, 1860 May 15, 1864 June 21-24, 1871 Mar 16-19, 1877 April 18,19, 1882 December 19-21, 1890	1136 1228 1316 1371 1401 1453 1497 1525
3	1891-1916	1532

Transcriptions Available

• Baptisms are green, Marriages are red, and Burials are blue.